Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Harvard Kennedy School
Length: 17 pages
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https://casecent.re/p/6846
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Abstract
On August 19, 1999, lawyers representing Boston''s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and attorneys for The White Fund of Lawrence, Massachusetts were in Suffolk Superior Court to plead their case in a legal battle that had begun earlier that year. At issue was the fate of $8 million worth of fine paintings bequeathed to The White Fund Trust by Reverend William E. Wolcott in his last will and testament. Although The White Fund owned and ostensibly controlled the collection, the paintings had been in the custody of the MFA for over 80 years. At the heart of the legal struggle was essentially the question of how best to interpret and serve the wishes of a benefactor, and in this case, to determine who should benefit: the people of Lawrence or the greater public via the MFA. In the end, the judge would decide which side''s argument had greater merit.
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Abstract
On August 19, 1999, lawyers representing Boston''s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and attorneys for The White Fund of Lawrence, Massachusetts were in Suffolk Superior Court to plead their case in a legal battle that had begun earlier that year. At issue was the fate of $8 million worth of fine paintings bequeathed to The White Fund Trust by Reverend William E. Wolcott in his last will and testament. Although The White Fund owned and ostensibly controlled the collection, the paintings had been in the custody of the MFA for over 80 years. At the heart of the legal struggle was essentially the question of how best to interpret and serve the wishes of a benefactor, and in this case, to determine who should benefit: the people of Lawrence or the greater public via the MFA. In the end, the judge would decide which side''s argument had greater merit.